Jurors Who Convicted Derek Chauvin Are Identified for First Time

U.S.|Jurors Who Convicted Derek Chauvin Are Identified for First Time

MINNEAPOLIS — More than six months aft a assemblage recovered the erstwhile Minneapolis constabulary serviceman Derek Chauvin blameworthy of murdering George Floyd, the identities of the 12 jurors whose verdict sent Mr. Chauvin to situation were released connected Monday for the archetypal time.

The jurors were kept retired of presumption of the courtroom cameras during the proceedings and shuttled backmost to their homes successful secrecy each night, but respective person since described the deliberations that took spot successful a edifice league country and the toll of the three-week trial.

Still, fractional of the assemblage remained anonymous until Monday, aft the justice who oversaw the proceedings ordered that each of their names should beryllium released successful effect to a petition by a conjugation of quality outlets including The New York Times. The jurors whose names were publicized for the archetypal clip either declined to remark connected Monday oregon could not beryllium reached.

At the location of 1 juror, little than 2 miles from wherever Mr. Chauvin knelt connected Mr. Floyd’s neck, a motion was taped to the doorway that said “Please, nary property nary soliciting.” A Black Lives Matter poster was displayed prominently successful a model of the home.

In interviews since the trial, Mr. Mitchell and respective different jurors person recounted however they gathered successful a edifice league country and pored implicit the lawsuit for 2 days of deliberations, making lists and timelines connected a whiteboard and reviewing videos and testimony. Accounts person differed connected however galore radical leaned toward voting blameworthy close away; Mr. Mitchell has said that 11 jurors were initially acceptable to convict connected a execution complaint and 1 was unsure, portion different juror said past week that arsenic galore arsenic 5 had initially been unsure.

In an interrogation with respective jurors that aired connected CNN past week, 1 said she had been swayed by the information that Mr. Chauvin had not provided assistance to Mr. Floyd arsenic helium pinned him to the crushed with his genu for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.

“This is not what helium did, but much oregon little what helium didn’t do,” the juror, Jodi Doud, said connected CNN. “He did not supply lifesaving measures for George Floyd erstwhile helium knew that the feline was successful symptom oregon needed aesculapian attention.”

Mr. Chauvin and respective different officers who person been charged successful Mr. Floyd’s decease responded connected May 25, 2020, to a 911 telephone from a convenience store clerk who said Mr. Floyd had utilized a fake $20 measure to bargain cigarettes. Officers took Mr. Floyd to the crushed and handcuffed him, and Mr. Chauvin knelt connected his cervix arsenic a radical of bystanders formed connected the sidewalk. Several of the bystanders yelled for officers to get disconnected Mr. Floyd, and one, Darnella Frazier, took a cellphone video of the country that sparked outrage and led to protests crossed the world.

After the jury’s verdict, Judge Peter A. Cahill sentenced Mr. Chauvin to 22 and a fractional years successful prison.

The tribunal connected Monday besides released responses to questionnaires that were sent to hundreds of prospective jurors earlier lawyers for some sides whittled down the excavation to 12 jurors, arsenic good arsenic two alternate jurors who sat done the proceedings but did not deliberate oregon ballot connected the verdict.

The questionnaires uncover a divers scope of opinions from the jurors, who were from passim Hennepin County and ranged successful property from their 20s to their 60s. Four of the jurors were Black, six were achromatic and 2 were multiracial; 7 of the 12 were women.

In the questionnaires, they were asked astir their views connected everything from the Black Lives Matter question to podcasts to however they viewed their ain interactions with the police. Some checked a container indicating that they had been “very satisfied” erstwhile they had called the constabulary for help, portion different said she was “very unsatisfied” aft asking the constabulary for assistance erstwhile her purse was stolen from a bar.

Some said they regularly work oregon watched the quality portion others said they had small interest. “I don’t truly travel the quality oregon politics,” wrote 1 juror, Journee Howard, who said she listened to Joe Rogan’s podcast and came crossed quality snippets connected Facebook but different did not question them out.

Still, each of the jurors were capable to picture galore facts of Mr. Floyd’s decease and the demonstrations that rocked the metropolis successful the days after, a motion of conscionable however overmuch the sidesplitting affected the region. All but 1 of the jurors said they had seen astatine slightest portion of the video that showed Mr. Chauvin kneeling connected Mr. Floyd’s neck.

Asked whether they believed that the constabulary treated achromatic and Black radical equally, astir each disagreed, portion each jurors said they agreed with the connection that “Police successful my assemblage marque maine consciousness safe.” They diverged much connected however they viewed the phrases “Black lives matter” and “blue lives matter” and connected whether the demonstrations that followed Mr. Floyd’s decease — which were particularly destructive successful Minneapolis — had helped oregon wounded the city.

Asked if they wanted to service connected the jury, 5 indicated that they wanted to beryllium selected arsenic jurors and six checked a container that said “Not sure.” One pistillate checked some “Yes” and “Not sure.”

In the CNN interview, respective jurors pushed backmost connected critics who person suggested that they indispensable person felt unit to convict due to the fact that of the protests successful Minneapolis aft Mr. Floyd’s decease and the protests that followed the fatal constabulary shooting of different Black man successful a Minneapolis suburb during the trial.

“This was nary casual task for us,” 1 of the jurors, Sherri Hardeman, said successful the CNN interview. “I felt similar it was my civic work to measurement guardant and represent, and a batch of radical person antithetic opinions astir the verdict and astir the full process, but it wasn’t an casual task; we took this precise seriously.”

Jay Senter and Sheila Eldred contributed reporting from Minneapolis. Kitty Bennett, Susan C. Beachy and Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.